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Lot 343 |PROPERTY FROM THE STEELCASE CORPORATE ART COLLECTION
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959)
Important Executive Desk Master for S.C. Johnson & Son Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, circa 1937-1939
Closed9 December 2022
Price Realised
USD 504,000
More Information
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959)
Important Executive Desk Master for S.C. Johnson & Son Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, circa 1937-1939
painted steel, American black walnut, brass-plated metal
37 3/4 x 84 1/8 x 54 5/8 in. (95.9 x 213.7 x 138.7 cm)
impressed 20 and with Steelcase metal plaque marked STEELCASE INC. ASSET NO. 257911
Important Executive Desk Master for S.C. Johnson & Son Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, circa 1937-1939
painted steel, American black walnut, brass-plated metal
37 3/4 x 84 1/8 x 54 5/8 in. (95.9 x 213.7 x 138.7 cm)
impressed 20 and with Steelcase metal plaque marked STEELCASE INC. ASSET NO. 257911
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1867-1959)
Important Executive Desk Master for S.C. Johnson & Son Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, circa 1937-1939
painted steel, American black walnut, brass-plated metal
37 3/4 x 84 1/8 x 54 5/8 in. (95.9 x 213.7 x 138.7 cm)
impressed 20 and with Steelcase metal plaque marked STEELCASE INC. ASSET NO. 257911
Important Executive Desk Master for S.C. Johnson & Son Administration Building, Racine, Wisconsin, circa 1937-1939
painted steel, American black walnut, brass-plated metal
37 3/4 x 84 1/8 x 54 5/8 in. (95.9 x 213.7 x 138.7 cm)
impressed 20 and with Steelcase metal plaque marked STEELCASE INC. ASSET NO. 257911
"A Steelcase Custom Installation for Johnson Wax Company," Steelcase Inc., marketing brochure, n.d., n.p.
"The Evolution of a Design," Steelcase Inc., marketing brochure, n.d., p. 5
"The World's Most Modern Office: The S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Building, Racine, Wisconsin," Steelcase Inc., marketing brochure, n.d., n.p.
"How Frank Lloyd Wright Chose Steelcase to Make Innovative Office Furniture," Steelcase Inc., corporate publication, n.d., p. 1
"How we got the Frank Lloyd Wright order...," Steelcase Inc., Interview with D.D. Hunting Sr., n.d., n.p.
"Offices Turn Back on Racine 'Main Street,'" New York Herald Tribune, January 10, 1937, p. D1
Architectural Forum, January 1938, p. 87
"New Frank Lloyd Wright Office Building Shows Shape of Things to Come," LIFE Magazine, May 8, 1939, pp. 16-17
"Pyrex 'Eaves' Light Interior Flowered with Pillars," The Christian Science Monitor, September 8, 1939, p. 2
H-R. Hitchcock, In the Nature of Materials: The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright 1887-1941, New York, 1942, n.p., ref. 330 (for a period photograph)
F. L. Wright, Sixty Years of Living Architecture, New York, 1953, n.p.
Y. Futagawa, A. Isozaki, Global Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright Johnson & Son, Administration Building and Research Tower, Racine, Wisconsin, 1936-9, Japan, 1970, pp. 20-21 (for a related example), 24-35 (for a discussion of the commission)
M. Geran, "Frank Lloyd Wright Revisited," Interior Design, November 1975, pp. 98, 101
D. Hanks, The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 1979, pp. 147-151
D. G. DeLong, "Workplaces: Open Offices in a Noble Hall: A Return to Mr. Wright's Johnson Wax Headquarters," AIA Journal, July 1980, p. 48
Frank Lloyd Wright, exh. cat., Kelmscott Gallery, Chicago, 1981, p. 42
Frank Lloyd Wright/Steelcase, marketing pamphlet, Grand Rapids, 1981, n.p.
S. Elliot, Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago, 1981, p. 42
Architectural Drawings and Decorative Art, exh. cat., Fischer Fine Art, London, 1985, pp. 92-93
E. Kaufman, Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, pp. 40-43
B. B. Pfeiffer, Y. Futagawa, Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph: 1924-1936, Tokyo, 1985, pp. 254-255, 262-263, 245-264 (for a discussion of the commission)
E. Kaufman, Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, pp. 40-43
D. Hoffman, Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture and Nature, Toronto, 1986, n.p., no. 122 (for a period photograph)
J. Lipman, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings, New York, 1986, pp. 35, 52, 84-91, 99, 101, 103-108, 111-116, 118-119, 166
J. Lipman, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings: Creating a Corporate Cathedral, exhibition pamphlet, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York, 1987, n.p.
Steelcase Inc., Steelcase: The First 75 Years, Grand Rapids, 1987, pp. 18, 19 (for a period photograph)
B. Pfeiffer, Frank Lloyd Wright: In the Realm of Ideas, Scottsdale, 1988, p. 187
J. Lipman, N. Levine, The Wright State: Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin, exh. cat. Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, 1992, p. 77
A. Boulton, Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, An Illustrated Biography, New York, 1993, p. 95
W. A. Storrer, The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion, Chicago, 1993, pp. 248-249
T. A. Heinz, Frank Lloyd Wright: Interiors and Furniture, London, 1994, pp. 184 (for a period photograph), 185-186, 245, 253
T. Riley, P. Reed, Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1994, p. 244-247 (for a period photograph)
N. Levine, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, Princeton, 1996, p. 304
R. McCarter, Frank Lloyd Wright, London, 1997, pp. 277-289
C. and P. Fiell, 1000 Chairs, Cologne, 1997, p. 249
M. Costantino, The Life and Works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Philadelphia, 1998, p. 127 (for a related example)
D. Maddex, 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 48-49
D. Maddex, 50 Favorite Rooms By Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 2001, p. 109
B. Brooks Pfeiffer, P. Gössel, Frank Lloyd Wright: Complete Works, Vol. 2, 1917-1942, New York, 2010, pp. 282-299
"The Evolution of a Design," Steelcase Inc., marketing brochure, n.d., p. 5
"The World's Most Modern Office: The S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Building, Racine, Wisconsin," Steelcase Inc., marketing brochure, n.d., n.p.
"How Frank Lloyd Wright Chose Steelcase to Make Innovative Office Furniture," Steelcase Inc., corporate publication, n.d., p. 1
"How we got the Frank Lloyd Wright order...," Steelcase Inc., Interview with D.D. Hunting Sr., n.d., n.p.
"Offices Turn Back on Racine 'Main Street,'" New York Herald Tribune, January 10, 1937, p. D1
Architectural Forum, January 1938, p. 87
"New Frank Lloyd Wright Office Building Shows Shape of Things to Come," LIFE Magazine, May 8, 1939, pp. 16-17
"Pyrex 'Eaves' Light Interior Flowered with Pillars," The Christian Science Monitor, September 8, 1939, p. 2
H-R. Hitchcock, In the Nature of Materials: The Buildings of Frank Lloyd Wright 1887-1941, New York, 1942, n.p., ref. 330 (for a period photograph)
F. L. Wright, Sixty Years of Living Architecture, New York, 1953, n.p.
Y. Futagawa, A. Isozaki, Global Architecture: Frank Lloyd Wright Johnson & Son, Administration Building and Research Tower, Racine, Wisconsin, 1936-9, Japan, 1970, pp. 20-21 (for a related example), 24-35 (for a discussion of the commission)
M. Geran, "Frank Lloyd Wright Revisited," Interior Design, November 1975, pp. 98, 101
D. Hanks, The Decorative Designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 1979, pp. 147-151
D. G. DeLong, "Workplaces: Open Offices in a Noble Hall: A Return to Mr. Wright's Johnson Wax Headquarters," AIA Journal, July 1980, p. 48
Frank Lloyd Wright, exh. cat., Kelmscott Gallery, Chicago, 1981, p. 42
Frank Lloyd Wright/Steelcase, marketing pamphlet, Grand Rapids, 1981, n.p.
S. Elliot, Frank Lloyd Wright, Chicago, 1981, p. 42
Architectural Drawings and Decorative Art, exh. cat., Fischer Fine Art, London, 1985, pp. 92-93
E. Kaufman, Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, pp. 40-43
B. B. Pfeiffer, Y. Futagawa, Frank Lloyd Wright Monograph: 1924-1936, Tokyo, 1985, pp. 254-255, 262-263, 245-264 (for a discussion of the commission)
E. Kaufman, Jr., Frank Lloyd Wright at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1985, pp. 40-43
D. Hoffman, Frank Lloyd Wright Architecture and Nature, Toronto, 1986, n.p., no. 122 (for a period photograph)
J. Lipman, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings, New York, 1986, pp. 35, 52, 84-91, 99, 101, 103-108, 111-116, 118-119, 166
J. Lipman, Frank Lloyd Wright and the Johnson Wax Buildings: Creating a Corporate Cathedral, exhibition pamphlet, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York, 1987, n.p.
Steelcase Inc., Steelcase: The First 75 Years, Grand Rapids, 1987, pp. 18, 19 (for a period photograph)
B. Pfeiffer, Frank Lloyd Wright: In the Realm of Ideas, Scottsdale, 1988, p. 187
J. Lipman, N. Levine, The Wright State: Frank Lloyd Wright in Wisconsin, exh. cat. Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, 1992, p. 77
A. Boulton, Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, An Illustrated Biography, New York, 1993, p. 95
W. A. Storrer, The Frank Lloyd Wright Companion, Chicago, 1993, pp. 248-249
T. A. Heinz, Frank Lloyd Wright: Interiors and Furniture, London, 1994, pp. 184 (for a period photograph), 185-186, 245, 253
T. Riley, P. Reed, Frank Lloyd Wright: Architect, exh. cat., Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1994, p. 244-247 (for a period photograph)
N. Levine, The Architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, Princeton, 1996, p. 304
R. McCarter, Frank Lloyd Wright, London, 1997, pp. 277-289
C. and P. Fiell, 1000 Chairs, Cologne, 1997, p. 249
M. Costantino, The Life and Works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Philadelphia, 1998, p. 127 (for a related example)
D. Maddex, 50 Favorite Furnishings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Washington, D.C., 1999, pp. 48-49
D. Maddex, 50 Favorite Rooms By Frank Lloyd Wright, New York, 2001, p. 109
B. Brooks Pfeiffer, P. Gössel, Frank Lloyd Wright: Complete Works, Vol. 2, 1917-1942, New York, 2010, pp. 282-299
The Steelcase master production desk has remained in the possession of the Steelcase Corporate Archives since it was constructed circa 1937 and was never owned by the SC Johnson Company or its affiliates.